A R C
by Rafiki123
Summary: A slightly different story. Connor and Abby are stuck in the Cretaceous, millions of millenia away from home, but something brings them closer. This story gives the Acronym ARC a whole new meaning!
1. Chapter 1

**_ARC_**

**_This is a slightly different story that I hope you'll enjoy. Thanks go to YHLH for the beta read. I know she really doesn't do slash and hope this hasn't put her off._**

* * *

**_Chapter 1 _**

Connor stretched as he woke up. It had been the fifth day that he and Abby had found themselves trapped in the Cretaceous. He, Abby, and Danny had been chasing Helen trying to stop her from destroying humanity, but in an unfortunate accident Connor had fallen from a tree, and twisted his ankle. In the events that ensued, Danny had gone on after Helen, whilst Abby stayed behind to look after Connor.

Any anomalies had closed trapping them millions of years away from home. The following day Abby had constructed a shelter so that Connor wouldn't have to put too much weight on his ankle and he could rest until he was better. For two days Connor rested his ankle, and on the third day it looked as if he could finally put some weight on it.

He and Abby then scouted the area some more not wanting to stray too far from the anomaly site, hoping that one day it would re-open and that they would find a way home.

They found a cave, an alcove in the rock that could serve as home for a while. Connor, with his vast knowledge of caves and rock formations told her that the cave had been formed from a rising water table that eroded the carbonate rock with hydrogen-sulfide enriched water. The water table had since dropped, leaving behind a hole in the rock, shelter from the wind and rain. They found it was perfect and because it was higher up they could see the valley below, and keep a watch on the anomaly site, should it re-open.

Connor had rigged up a very basic anomaly detecting device, so basic that all it consisted of was a tin can, a set of keys, and a rope to hold it in place.

Slowly he turned as he heard Abby moan softly behind him. She was waking from her slumber, and he realised that she must have fallen asleep whilst on the look-out.

"Morning Beautiful...!" He commented a small smile began to appear.

"Oh Connor stop it! All that cheerfulness first thing in the morning, is beginning to make me sick." She groaned.

"Look we're stuck here whether you like it or not, be as grumpy as yer like, it's not going to change anything." Connor frowned, beginning to get tired of all Abby's knocks.

"I'm sorry Conn, I'm just not a morning person, and unfortunately I can be a complete bitch until I've had my first cup of tea."

"I've got news for you, tea won't be invented for another 145 million years or so, and you'll have a rather long wait for your morning cuppa." Connor grumbled.

He began to sulk as he moved to the mouth of the cave to survey the panoramic view, and wondered what had changed since she had kissed him; he recalled how they had rescued Jack from the anomaly at the racetrack, and how Jack had told her how he'd brought Rex back. She had said the kiss was a thank you for that.

The kiss had been sweet, mesmerising, and had thrown him completely, he had thought that this was a turning point in their relationship, but since then, she seemed to be distancing herself from him.

Resigned he sat down on a rock outside their cave, and thought about someone else, someone who had comforted him in his hour of need. It had been years ago, when his friend Tom had died from a bite from a dodo. It was afterwards when they had wheeled Tom's body away that he had tried to speak to Duncan.

_"You're not the person I knew Conn. It's dangerous around you! Stay away from me! I never want to see you again!" Duncan had stormed off without as much as a backwards look. _

That had hurt; he had lost two of his oldest friends that day, and Abby, the one person he had wanted to speak to, was too busy with Stephen to notice his doleful and sad looks. Nevertheless, someone had been watching him that day, noticed the way in which he bowed his head in defeat.

* * *

_"Come on Connor; let's go out for a drink?"_

_"You what...?" Connor questioned, surprised at the person who had put a friendly arm on his shoulder._

_"I mean it, just let me go and get changed back into civvies, and I'll take you for a drink, you look as if you could use one." _

_"Uh, nah, I don't feel like socialising right now," Connor bowed his head once more trying not to look into Captain Ryan's clear blue eyes._

_"I'm not taking no for an answer." The Captain rubbed his shoulder. "Look I'm not Duncan, and I'm not Tom... Well, I am, but that's not the point. You need a friend right now, and I'm here. We'll go for that drink and see how you feel afterwards, but for the moment, you're coming with me."_

_Reminiscing about his friend Tom, Connor had sat in the Captain's car whilst he had gone to get changed, rather than go with him to the locker rooms, seeing or talking to anyone wasn't something he wanted to do. When the soldier came back, he was dressed in a faded pair of jeans, and a pale blue t-shirt, and he had thrown on a blue and white checked shirt on top. The look was very casual and Connor couldn't help but notice how smart and dashing he looked._

_They went to a local pub, Ryan had ordered the first round of drinks, and they had started off the evening with Connor talking about his friends. He didn't remember how many drinks they had drunk before moving on to Ryan's flat, but he knew it wasn't many. He wasn't drunk, just tipsy enough to be able to relax, and remember everything afterwards._

_Entering Ryan's flat he had been surprised at the contents, it wasn't the TV which sat in one corner of the living room, it was the guitar which stood in another, and sheet music which lay on a bookshelf not far away._

_Connor stood at the bookshelf looking at the titles Ryan had acquired, while the soldier pottered around in the kitchen making coffee. He wasn't really paying attention to the books, just looking at them briefly before the alcohol in his system took hold and the titles began to merge into one._

_"Here's your coffee," Ryan set two mugs on the oak coffee table, and waited until Connor had sat down on the sofa, before sitting next to him._

_Connor sat with his hands between his knees, feeling slightly sleepy, and he blinked to keep himself awake._

_Ryan reached forward and with a flick of his wrist took Connor's fedora and threw it behind him._

_"Don't like hats?" Connor giggled._

_"I've nothing against your hats, I think they suit you! I think they look really sexy on you!"_

_"Sexy? Me...?" Connor began to laugh. "I wouldn't know how to be sexy. I've been trying to get Abby to go out with me for the past six months and do you think she's noticed?"_

_"You've got your eyes on Abby?"_

_Connor nodded, and explained that Abby fancied Stephen, a sad look on his face and Ryan couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy._

_"But you live with her? Right?"_

_"I'm a lodger, the only reason she puts up with me is that I pay her rent." Connor picked up his mug and slurped at the beverage which cleared his head._

_"Ah... Have you looked around for anyone else who might be interested?" Ryan pondered. "Not thought about anyone else you'd like to end up in bed with?"_

_"Not really... How about you?" Connor asked, completely missing the twinkle in Ryan's eye._

_"Listen Connor, there's something I've wanted to do for a while now, I hope you don't mind..."_

_"What's that?"_

_Ryan put a hand on the back of Connor's neck leaned forwards and gently kissed him on the lips._

_Connor wasn't sure what had happened there, or why, but he found he wanted to do it again. He had always thought that kissing another man would somehow feel awkward, weird, and wrong, but this didn't feel like that at all._

_Connor shook his head clearing it even more, and blinked at Ryan. He had known for a while that Ryan was bi-sexual, one of the other soldiers had said something, but at the time Connor had not given it much thought, but he was thinking about it now._

_The coffee had cleared his head enough for him to know that whatever was happening between him and Ryan, he wanted to continue. Connor was not a virgin, and at this moment in time, he wanted to experiment and to find out if he could go along with this, he had not thought of ending up in bed with another man before, but now he wanted to find out, to find out which he preferred, being with a man or a woman._

_This time Connor leaned forward, and kissed Ryan, surprising him. Their kisses became more fervent, more urgent, and more intense. Still kissing Ryan led Connor to the bedroom. Clothes lay trailing on the floor and soon the pair stood by the edge of the bed in just their boxer shorts._

_"Lay down for me, I want to look at you..." Ryan urged the young student. The soldier's eyes travelled up and down his body, taking in each and every detail, each and every mole._

_Instructing Connor to raise his arms above his head, and to keep them there, Ryan trailed his fingers up and down Connor's body, causing him to gasp and squirm under his touch. He could tell Connor was enjoying this, the noises he made told him so._

_Leaning down he kissed Connor's neck, shoulder and the tops of his arms, moving across he continued to kiss his collarbone, and the top of his chest. Slowly, ever so slowly he licked and kissed as he moved down Connor's body until he reached his nipples. Rubbing them gently he kissed each one before sucking on them._

_The sound of Connor groaning underneath him spurred him on, and it wasn't long before he kissed the tops of Connor's thighs. He gripped the student's slim hips gently before urging him to spread his legs, and gently he reached down to massage his balls._

_"Oh god!" Connor moaned once more, his eyes closed willing Ryan to both stop his torture, and to continue._

_"Are you ready for this?" Ryan questioned, he leaned down and took Connor's length in his mouth, making the man arch his back and shiver at the same time._

_Connor had never experienced a blowjob such as this, and his body craved more, he just wasn't sure he wanted it from Ryan. Nevertheless he let him continue, the action of bobbing up and down on his cock, made his head swim with desire. The feeling was incredible and his eyes rolled in their sockets, he felt an intense throbbing in his penis, and he spurted come down Ryan's throat._

_It was when he felt Ryan's lubricated finger enter his arse, that his mind screamed stop. The action felt alien, it hurt, and suddenly Connor didn't want to continue anymore. He voiced his objection and pushed Ryan away before grabbing at his clothes._

_"Connor stop, please don't go..." Ryan pleaded. "Talk to me, tell me what's wrong?"_

_"It's not you, it's me." Connor stuttered._

_"You're a virgin?"_

_"No! It's not that... Well, it is... But ... It's not." Connor replied._

_"You've never been with another man before?"_

_Connor closed his eyes, gulped and nodded shyly._

_"Why didn't you tell me?"_

_"Because..." Connor trailed off, opening his eyes slowly, how did he tell him that he'd never done this before, that although he'd enjoyed this experience, the thought that he was gay scared the living daylights out of him._

_"You didn't enjoy it?" Ryan closed his eyes defeated, he really liked Connor and didn't want it to end this way, with the young student scampering out of his flat like a frightened rabbit._

_"That's not it!" Connor pulled on his boots._

_Ryan stood in front of the door, preventing Connor from leaving too quickly._

_"Don't you trust me?" Ryan hated the pained look on Connor's face, hated the fact that he had put it there, and all he wanted to do, was to kiss it away._

_Connor stopped and looked up, chocolaty brown irises met clear blue. Ryan stood at the door in just his boxers, hands on his hips, a challenging stance for Connor to reach around him and open the door._

_"I'd trust you with my life." He sighed._

_"OK... Answer me this then... Would you do it again?"_

_Connor paused for a moment, "Yes... I would," he replied honestly._

_"Then why are you walking away?" Ryan's heart was breaking, he needed to know._

_"Because... I don't know, something doesn't feel right, maybe it's because I've never done this before,"_

_"Is it because it's me?" Connor heard the hurt in the faintness of his voice._

_"No, it's not you at all." His voice softened, "Look if I do it again, I want it to be with you." He leaned close to Ryan and putting a hand on his neck, this time he was the one to pull him closer for a kiss._

_He rested his forehead against Ryan's sighing; he couldn't believe the feelings of desire which coursed through his veins, he was scared. He wanted it to be Abby, and yet he didn't._

_"Please don't go..." Ryan whispered desperately. "Look we don't have to do anything you don't want to, we can just talk if that's what you want."_

_Connor was torn, part of him wanted to stay with the soldier, he trusted the man, and if Ryan said they would talk, that's exactly what they would do. It would be helpful to talk to Ryan, to find out if what he was feeling was natural, and to talk about his life in general._

_But the other half was scared at what would happen if he did. There was one part of him that wanted to experiment further, to give in to the lust that had collected in his gut, to simply enjoy what Ryan could give him, something that Abby could and would not. _

_They kissed slowly, losing themselves in the moment. Simply enjoying the other's presence._

_"Ryan..." He whispered, his forehead still resting against Ryan's._

_"Hmm..."_

_"I'm confused..." He breathed._

_Ryan pulled back and stared at the young man for a moment, a quizzical look on his face. He began to join the dots in his head. Tried to figure out what was bothering the young man in front of him, and then it dawned on him. _

_"It's obvious what you need... To me anyway..." Gently he put a friendly hand on Connor's shoulder. "It's best to talk this through, leaving like this won't solve anything. The whole idea of me bringing you here was to make you feel better, not to complicate things further."_

_Reaching for Connor's hand he led him back to the sofa, and glanced at the barely touched drinks. _

_"I'll put some clothes on, and I'll make us some fresh coffee, this has gone cold. We can talk, you can tell me exactly how you feel and why it's bugging you. Yeah?"_

_Connor closed his eyes, part of him still wanted to bolt, but he knew that Ryan was genuine, and he sounded sincere. He nodded slowly, and began to chew his lip._

_This time he stood in the kitchen watching Ryan as he pottered around the kitchen in just his jeans. _

_"Ryan...?" Connor questioned and waited until the soldier looked in his direction. "Why me...?"_

_"Why you in particular, or what I like about you?"_

_"What you like about me?" _

_"Well... The first time I noticed you was when you told us about that huge centipede type thing. The ath..."_

_"The Arthropleurid...?" _

_Ryan smirked, "Yeah... that thing. What impressed me was not only did you come up with a name for it, you had all these details about it, you knew exactly where to find it, and even though you were scared shitless about going through that tunnel, you came with us. Then you didn't stop there either, even though you didn't have a weapon, you beat it off with nothing but a stool. That's what I call resourceful!" Ryan snorted at the memory. "That was the first time I noticed you."_

_Connor began to blush, he relaxed a little, and he smiled for the first time since their activities in the bedroom._

_Moving once more to the living room, Ryan sat on the armchair instead of next to Connor, they actually drank their coffee instead of letting it grow cold, and talked, or rather Connor talked, with Ryan prompting him with various questions. Questions about how he felt, what made him nervous, why he felt that way, why he was trying to ignore the craving that would make him Ryan's boyfriend._

_Slowly Connor began to accept that there was nothing wrong with fancying a bloke, it was just unusual, and so long as they were discreet, no-one would have to know. He began to feel better about himself and although he still want to be shagged properly, Ryan suggested that they wait. _

_The last thing, the captain wanted was for Connor to have any regrets about them, and he insisted that if Connor felt the same way tomorrow, then they could take things further. He even went as far as to drive Connor back to Abby's flat himself._

_._

_-o-o-o-_

_._

* * *

_The following day had proved to be quite eventful._

_A Pterosaur had flown through an anomaly, at one point it looked as if it was chasing Connor hoping to make him lunch. Ryan's heart had pounded in his chest trying to break out, he had aimed for the prehistoric bird, and had been exasperated when Cutter had knocked his gun making him miss. _

_Later, behind closed doors, he had hugged and kissed Connor, and had made him promise never to do anything like that again. He instructed Connor to let Abby drive home; and to begin walking and he would come along to give him a lift. This way it would look like Ryan was just being friendly and not picking him up._

_At Ryan's flat they didn't spend any time talking about feelings, they had covered that on the way home, and they both knew what the other wanted. Clothes were shed very quickly and Connor once again found himself flat on his back, he shivered with excitement, and patiently waited for the onslaught to begin. _

_Ryan however; was hesitant. "Are you sure you want this?" _

_"Oh yes," Connor breathed._

_"I want you to tell me what you want."_

_"Touch me... Kiss me... All over." _

_Ryan smiled and leaned down to kiss his young lover, he continued touching kissing and pleasuring him until his cock was throbbing. Slowly he licked and nipped Connor's member, listening to him groan, then slowly he took his length into his mouth once more. This time he hoped that Connor would stay for the duration of what he had in mind. He groaned himself as Connor spurted come down his throat. Licking his lips he moved up and kissed him, trailing his hands up and down his body, feeling his soft skin under his touch. _

_"Want to fuck you... You gonna be OK?" Ryan whispered, into his ear so close that he felt his warm breath tickling his skin._

_Connor nodded, trembling, his eyes shut tightly. Ryan was making him shiver in such a delightful way; and he didn't want him to stop. He bit his lip as Ryan reached for the lube, and he waited for the intrusion into his arse. He opened his eyes when nothing happened only to find Ryan looking down at him._

_"Take note of what I'm about to do. I shall expect you to do the same for me afterwards." Ryan commented._

_Connor watched as he squeezed a large amount of lubricant onto his fingers and pressed one finger against Connor's arse, slowly pushing it inside. He gasped at the feeling, this time he relaxed enough and began to enjoy it, but couldn't help but pant when a second finger joined the first. _

_Connor continued to breathe heavily and groaned as the older man increased his ministrations, slipping in a third finger and wriggling them around. The incredible feeling travelled all the way up his spinal nerves and something popped in his head. He barely heard Ryan ask him if he was ready for him, nevertheless, he nodded anyway, He couldn't have replied even if he wanted to, he was stimulated so much that his larynx refused to function._

_He felt Ryan remove his fingers and took a quick breath, and then he felt the burn of the soldier's hard shaft breaching his body. The action felt amazing, weird and wonderful at the same time. He sighed happily and then wondered why Ryan wasn't moving. Opening his eyes once more he saw Ryan's lips moving, he shook his head clearing it a little and finally heard Ryan who wanted to make sure he was OK._

_He smiled widely and nodded._

_ It was only then that Ryan began to move, very slowly in and out, and Connor began to quiver once more. He became very vocal as Ryan increased his intensity, pounding into his body, with vigour and stamina that only came with experience._

_Connor felt Ryan as he rubbed his hips in a sensual manner, his calloused fingers ghosting upon his skin, driving him to the brink of ecstatic insanity, and he whimpered, wanting more from his lover._

_He could tell Ryan was spurred on by his loudness, because the soldier pumped harder into his arse, not stopping until he came. He had no idea that having sex this way could give him so much satisfaction, leave him feeling so good, yet feeling so uncertain._

_Ryan was too tired to do anything else, and he flopped boneless next to him._

_Connor shifted and this time he was the one to run his hands up and down Ryan's body, driving him delirious. He was spurred by Ryan's deep moans and the desire which had pumped through his veins now rushed to his groin._

_Copying Ryan's actions, Connor began to pleasure the older man, marvelling at the way he felt, strange and unfamiliar, yet very certain that this was what he wanted. Pushing his cock inside Ryan's tight hole felt awesome yet weird, unusual yet overwhelmingly wonderful. He shuddered with bliss and although Connor wanted to pound him with the same intensity as Ryan had, he couldn't, and it was not long before he exploded come inside Ryan's arse._

_He gulped for breath and slowly withdrew. He sat on the edge of the bed, his back to Ryan._

_"Are you OK?" Ryan pondered._

_"Hmm..." Was the only reply that Connor could manage; his mind still fuzzy from the experience._

_"I said... Was that good for you?" _

_"What can I say? That was mind blowing, but..." _

_"But...? What...?" Ryan questioned hesitantly. Was Connor having second thoughts?_

_"It felt like cloud nine, heaven! But ... I don't know... I felt there was something missing."_

_"It's odd that you should say that, I felt it too."_

_The men chatted easily for a while, comfortable in each other's presence, without the need for any clothes. They chatted about how they felt about each other, and where they would go from this point. Connor felt comfortable enough to say that he most definitely would see Ryan again and that he wanted their unusual relationship to continue, but he didn't feel comfortable about moving in. _

_Ryan agreed and even suggested that in order to keep their relationship secret, he would have to be seen dating women._

_"I might have to get Abby to teach me how to flirt." Connor snorted._

_"You do that..." Ryan laughed and prepared to take Connor home. _

_Connor promised him that he would be back, a promise that he never had a chance to fulfil._

Tom Ryan had become a more than a friend that day, and Connor still remembered the last anomaly Ryan had gone through with Cutter, never to return.

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-o-o-o-

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* * *

Connor felt that if Caroline had not come along when she did, he would have grieved for Ryan a lot more. And although she had been a traitor, she had been a welcome distraction. After the fiasco of Stephen's death, and the discovery of Caroline's treacherous behaviour, Connor had thought of Ryan again.

He longed for a true friend. He found he got on well with Captain Becker, with Danny too. When Sarah started, a friendship began to blossom and he forgot about Ryan once more. But now, in this wilderness, and due to Abby's unnecessary outburst, he began to think about him again. He thought about all those people who were millions of years away. Those who had died and were no more, and those, who like him, were trapped in the wrong place in time. He had lost a good pal when Ryan was killed. He tried not to show it afterwards, but he couldn't help but feel that something was missing from his life, a friend by the name of Captain Tom Ryan.

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-o-o-o-

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* * *

**_I wonder if anyone can tell me what ARC actually stands for in this story?_** (Apart from YHLH - She knows Everything!)


	2. Chapter 2

_**ARC **_

_**Thanks go to YHLH for the beta read.**_

_**Thank you to everyone who took time to read this, and to leave a review.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

Connor stood at the mouth of the cave and screwed his eyes up as he thought of Danny, Becker, Sarah, Cutter, Stephen and Ryan. He tried hard not to think of all those who were so far away from them, either dead or weren't even born yet, Tom Ryan was dead, and he wasn't going to come back ever again.

He was so engrossed in his memories that he didn't hear Abby came out to join him.

"Look I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to snap."

"It's OK."

"Look... Shall we go and do some gathering?" Abby muttered, saddened by his mood and the fact she was the reason behind it.

"Yeah," Connor was very quiet as they wandered down to the river. Abby's outburst had upset him more than just a little, and annoyed with her, he didn't want to say anything.

Abby noticed Connor's silent behaviour, the frown on his face; she kicked herself and wished she hadn't been so vocal. If truth be known, she had grown accustomed to Connor's rambling, and she didn't like it when he was too quiet.

She heard him sniff several times, and wondered if he was crying. He'd been a changed man since Cutter had died. She remembered all too well how he had thrown himself into his work after Cutter's death, working almost night and day to get the computer systems up and running. She knew that he struggled with his emotions especially when a member of the team died. She began to realise that stuck in the past like this could not be easy for him, stuck millions of years away from the people he socialised with, with only herself for company, and what lousy company she had been for him.

"Are you OK?" She questioned as she heard him sniff once again.

"Can you smell that?" He sniffed again and hesitantly he pulled some leaves off from a nearby bush. Sniffing at the leaves in his hand, he smiled and pulled off more leaves, shoving them into his bag.

"What are you going to do with those?" She pondered.

"You'll see," he winked with a brief smile that didn't last long enough for Abby to feel comfortable.

The day was spent hunting for food; and they even managed to catch a fish. Connor tasted the water, it was cool and fresh, and clean, untainted by years of human pollution; and he filled his water canister. He scoured the area making notes on where they were, which trees would lead back to their cave, and marked out a rough path by knotting the long grasses together. They followed the river for a mile downstream seeing where it led.

Before heading back to their cave, Connor collected some more water, and took it back to their cave.

Standing at the edge of the cave which was fast becoming home, Connor followed the river with his eyes, until it disappeared over the horizon.

"Tomorrow we follow the river upstream and see where it leads." He spoke just voicing his thoughts rather than speaking with Abby.

"OK...!" Abby yawned.

Connor sat on a large boulder at the entrance and began to gut the fish they had caught with a hunting knife that they had found in Becker's survival pack. Then he strung it up to cook by the fire. They watched the sun as it began to set and ate before settling down to rest.

.

-o-o-o-

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* * *

The following morning Abby woke to the smell of something being cooked. Stretching she joined Connor as he huddled over the fire.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, sleepily.

"Well... You know you said yesterday that you were grumpy until you'd had a cuppa. Well I found this." He held a handful of leaves out for her to see.

She asked as she picked up a leaf, rubbing it for fragrance. "Mint...?"

"I made you some mint tea." He smiled and filled her cup with the infusion.

"Mmm ... That's nice!" She grinned, and pulled him closer; leaning forwards she kissed him, slowly and sensually. Wanting more she deepened the kiss and pushed her tongue into his mouth.

"Thank you ever so much Conn." He made her so happy, and did small things for her to improve her mood, things which shouldn't really matter, but he did them anyway. Getting Rex back for her was one of them.

Connor wished that she hadn't done that, surely a kiss like that meant that she wanted him to be her boyfriend? That she was ready to accept him and that she wanted to be with him. She had always pushed him away in the past, always used the "He's not my boyfriend," tone, he wasn't sure he could deal with any more rejection from her.

He wanted to talk to her about it, wanted to make sure that she was not leading him on, but rather than question her, he said nothing, preferring to let the pleasurable feeling ripple through his body.

He would talk to her... But another day.

.

-o-o-o-

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* * *

Their morning tea, brightened the day for both of them.

Setting out to go hunting they travelled to the river once more. This time they traversed upstream, just as they had agreed yesterday.

It wasn't long before they came to a waterfall. Seeing the waterfall Abby began to smile, the water cascaded down perfectly and Abby was pleased to see a small ledge upon which they could stand. After a whole week of being in the Cretaceous, she felt dirty and unclean, and here was an opportunity to bathe. Abby did not going to waste any time, she shed her outer layer of clothing she stood under the water in just her bra and knickers.

The wet fabric did nothing to hide her figure, it clung to her body like a second skin, and Connor could not help but notice her firm buttocks, and the gentle swell of her breasts, and he began to drool.

Abby noticed him watching, she pushing away the gnawing feeling in her stomach, the one which made her push away at potential boyfriends, and thought about the ways in which he made her happy, and this morning he had presented such a fantastic tipple. She loved the way he was always trying to please her, and now it was her turn to give Connor something.

Carefully she edged back towards him and urging him to strip also, she pulled him underneath the spray. Part of her didn't want Connor to get so close, yet a large part of her wanted him, wanted him to be her boyfriend. She ignored the way her gut twisted; and took the step of bringing Connor closer to her; she wanted Connor and wanted to tell him everything, every small detail of why she behaved the way she did with him.

"I don't say this often enough Conn, but I really appreciate you. I'm glad you're here with me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Connor smiled briefly. This was the first time since being trapped in the Cretaceous that Abby had been so open with him, was she ready to take their relationship to the next level? He was tired of dancing around her, tired of being pushed away and he voiced his concern.

"Yes, I am ... I realise how much I love you Connor. You're just what I need. I want to kiss you, I want to make love with you, but I'm scared ..." Abby noticed Connor's raised eyebrows, his questioning gaze. "I don't want to fall pregnant, not while we're trapped here."

"I understand, completely, I wouldn't want you to fall pregnant either, but I want you to be sure, I want you to be sure that it's me that you want to be with, because I _really_ couldn't handle being dumped when we eventually make it back to the 21st century."

Abby nodded. "I really do love you Connor, and here's the deal, whatever we do, we do it together." She spoke honestly.

"OK. Here's what we'll do, let's experiment, and see how far we can go without actually going all the way."

Abby nodded and waited patiently while Connor began by kissing her, his soft hands sliding over her body, his fingertips brushing lightly, making her shiver in delight.

As much as she wanted Connor to continue, she felt ever so slightly uncomfortable and quickly made ideas of her own. Running her hands over his body she slipped off his boxers, and carefully threw them to join his clothes which lay on the river bank.

Bobbing down she took Connor's hardening length in her mouth. She licked and sucked him and listened to him groan. One hand massaged his buttocks whilst she steadied herself with the other. The pleasurable sounds he was making spurred her on and she sucked harder and tongued the small slit in Connor's cock, she knew he was close and moments later she tasted his come as he exploded in her mouth.

Connor had to take a minute to compose himself; then he slowly pulled her up until she stood before him, gently, ever so gently he ran his hands over her body, he couldn't help but notice the way in which she closed her eyes and shivered. Carefully he unclipped her bra and pushed down her knickers. He threw them so that they landed next to her pile of clothes on the bank. Lightly, ever so lightly his hands travelled up her body, stopping at her rounded breasts, his thumbs grazed over her nipples making her gasp in reaction to his touch.

Connor sighed as she reached for his stubbly face and kissed him, her tongue pushed into his mouth demanding more from him. Encouraged by this, he put his arms around her back, pulling her towards him, and he kissed her, leaving her breathless, and wanting more than just a few heated kisses.

He waited until she opened her eyes, tried to see if she really wanted him to continue, tried in vain to decipher the way her eyes glazed over. He waited for her nod before instructing her, and turned her around and cupping her bottom.

Gently he pushed a finger to the rose bud of her arse and listening to her gasp he began fingering her. He knew she was enjoying this; it was the way in which she moaned his name that spurred him on. He pushed two fingers of one hand into her arse before reaching around with the other to her clit and pushing his fingers into her core. He felt her writhe against him, her breath quickened and she panted for breathe; he continued and pushed harder, pumping his fingers in and out of her body, driving her mad with ecstasy.

It was the first time Connor and Abby had joined like this, and encouraged by the way she told him that she loved him, he could not wait to do it again.

.

-o-o-o-

.

* * *

That evening he talked with Abby, she had become more quiet than usual. He couldn't stand it anymore, he just had to know, why she was pushing him away again?

It was then that he discovered that although she had enjoyed it, there was another reason for her reluctance. Abby gulped, tears welled in her eyes.

"You see when I was a teenager, my stepdad, he used to..." a tear rolled down her cheek, "My stepdad would touch me..." Abby told him. "I didn't like it... I -don't want to talk about it!" She sobbed.

Deep in his heart, Connor knew what the problem was.

"Hey ... look we don't have to talk, in your own time love, just answer one question...? Since it happened...? Am I the first?" Connor cringed when she nodded.

The thought that he had been the only man to touch her this way since the dreadful event made him unhappy, he would have waited longer if he had known. They were silent for a moment, and Connor gathered up the courage to sit next to her. He wanted desperately to hold her, but felt that he shouldn't. Instead he waited, waited for her to say something. He smiled inwardly when she did start talking, and it seemed that she would only share certain information.

"I tried years ago, before I joined the zoo. My boyfriend at the time... He kept pushing me, kept asking and when I repeatedly said no ... he left me!" Abby began to cry. The normally strong and feisty girl that Connor knew was gone, replaced by someone he didn't quite know, someone who needed his love and attention.

Abby sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve, she pulled herself together momentarily.

"I swore then I'd never let another man close to me ever again. Years went by and I grew stronger. Then when Stephen and you came along I felt strong enough, I wanted to try again with him, but he wasn't interested in me. I was happy enough with you moving into my flat, got used to you being there." She turned and looked towards him; her teary, blue eyes sought his. "You knocked down my walls, you got to me. I don't know how, and I don't know when, I fell in love with you. You've got to understand Connor, I love you. I want you so badly it hurts, but I'm not sure I could do it again so quickly."

He now understood why Abby had been so aloof from him, why she had pushed him away for so long. His heart went out to her; he loved her all the more for being so honest with him, and he wanted to hold her, but didn't know how. Instead he simply held out his arms and sighed when Abby leaned into his embrace. Slowly he brought his arms around her and held her, pressing a kiss into her hair.

The revelation brought them closer together and they no longer danced around each other. Connor patiently waited for the day when she would tell him of what really happened.

A month later he approached her again.

"Abby...? Do you mind if...?" The twinkle in his eye was unmistakable, and rather than push him away, she insisted that he followed her instructions.

She enjoyed the way he kissed her, his tongue dancing with hers. She encouraged him by divesting him of his clothes, wanting nothing more than to touch his smooth skin. Running her hands over his body she told him exactly where she wanted to be kissed. She loved the way he licked her body, sucking on her breasts carrying on until he reached the sweet spot between her thighs.

She held his hand and guided him to where she wanted to be touched, sighed when he pushed one finger and then two inside her willing body; in fact she became very vocal and begged him for more, and urged him to continue. Slowly turning around she wiggled her arse at him, hoping he would understand and he would not waste anymore time.

Connor grinned and slowly he stretched her tight hole with his fingers, then lining up behind her he pushed his cock past the rosebud of her arse. He listened as she cried out "Yes," and knew that she wanted this, to be taken in this manner and he relaxed, knowing that she wanted him to continue from her loud ramblings. It was unlike Abby to be so vocal but he loved the way in which she had let herself go.

She let herself enjoy being with Connor, she already trusted him, and knew that she wanted to be his girlfriend... Was his girlfriend! The thought no longer made her gut twist into a knot, she loved him, and he loved her back.

Months passed by and still the simple ADD showed no signs that an anomaly would open. With nothing else to do in the late evenings, Connor and Abby told each other of their innermost secrets.

They told each other of their childhood and of growing up. Connor told her about his mother and how his father had left them whilst Connor had been a mere babe. He listened to Abby as she told him about her mother, the way she had married twice, and how she hated her stepfather. She didn't go into detail, but she told him that he had been the one who had abused her.

Connor reassured her that he loved her and that he would never make her do anything she wasn't happy with, that whenever they chose to come together, it would be an act of love, not something to be ashamed of. He wanted to show her how much he loved her and sometimes he would do just that, driving her wild with passionate love-making.

.

-o-o-o-

.

* * *

_Well that was chapter 2..._

_Chapter 3 coming soon._


	3. Chapter 3

**_ARC_**

**_Thanks to YHLH for the Beta. I have made changes since she read this so all other errors are all mine._**

**_Thanks to all who have taken time to read this one._**

* * *

**_Chapter 3 _**

One morning Connor was preparing to go hunting, he looked out from the cave which was their home, into the sky. Clouds had gathered above and hidden the sun. It didn't look like rain, but in the Cretaceous you could never be sure. He grabbed the spear which he had fashioned from a long branch and a sharp pointed stone.

Connor wasn't paying attention; he didn't hear the rattling of the makeshift Anomaly Detecting Device. He didn't even see the ball of flickering light begin to dance behind him.

"Connor...! It's an anomaly...!" Abby tapped him on the shoulder and began to run towards the glittering orb.

It took Connor a moment but he grinned and began to run after her.

They were in front of the anomaly, when it rippled signifying that something was coming through, suddenly Connor grabbed Abby and pulled her to one side. A creature came through, a terrifying creature that when faced, always made his blood run cold, a future predator, and it appeared to drag something through behind it.

Connor's eyes widened and he gasped as he realised what it was, or rather who it was!  
"Ryan...!" He whispered incredulously.

Remembering that he had a spear in his hand he threw it at the future predator.  
Gaining the creatures attention, he ran in the opposite direction, leaving instructions with Abby to help the soldier left behind.

Abby ran towards the injured soldier as the predator leapt towards Connor. Her heart pounded in her chest wanting to break free. She had seen these predators in action, the results weren't pretty, this predator was about to tear her lover to bits and she was not going to let that happen. As quick as a flash she grabbed the machine gun which hung from Ryan's hand, and fired several shots.

The shots echoed in the wilderness, one of them hit the predator but did nothing to stop it and it screeched in her direction, the gun shots alerted every single creature around, a spinosaurus came from nowhere, and it tossed the predator into the air. There was a tussle between the spinosaurus and the predator, and Connor took the distraction as an opportunity to run back to Abby.

"Let's not stand here watching! Let's run for the anomaly!"

Connor carefully tried to lift the soldier.

"Leave me! Just leave me! Save yourselves..." the blonde haired soldier rasped, not recognising the pair in front of him.

"We're not leaving you!" Connor shouted, and putting one arm over his shoulder he encouraged the Captain to hobble over towards the anomaly.

The journey towards the glittering orb took time ... Time they didn't have, a battle raged behind them, two predatory creatures leapt at each other, fighting to the death. The future predator tried to jump into the spinosaur's back, only for the dinosaur's tail to swipe it away.

Abby took Ryan's other arm and they managed to travel a little faster, but not fast enough. The anomaly flickered and closed just as they were about to enter it.

Connor bowed his head in despair for a moment, and then taking a deep breath, he checked that the Spinosaurus was busy chomping down on its prey; he tightened his grip on the injured soldier and hobbled over towards a nearby rock. Hopefully the Spinosaurus would not see them and would go away without hunting for more tasty morsels.

They stayed as quiet as they could for an age, until the huge dinosaur moved away. Only when it was far enough did they venture out. Keeping a lookout for any creatures, they held the soldier carefully and began to walk. Connor increased his grasp on the injured older man and strived to get the man to safety, and into their sheltered cave.

"Let me go... I'm dying anyway, save yourself. Leave me." Ryan muttered.

He clearly hadn't recognised Connor or Abby, and in his delirious state he wanted to be left alone to die, something Connor was not happy with, this time he was not going to let Tom die!

He remembered the time Cutter had come back without him, saying that he had been dragged through an anomaly, and before the professor had even had a chance to go through to rescue the soldier, the anomaly had flickered and closed.

Arriving back at the cave, he eased Ryan down onto the bed of ferns that had been his bed for the last few days. Checking Ryan's pulse, he became concerned, it was low and shallow, and the older man was struggling to breathe. Connor loosened all the fastenings on the soldiers Kevlar vest; he even loosened the thigh strap on the soldiers leg.

He became concerned when the soldiers eyes fluttered closed and he checked for a pulse.

"NO...!" He mouthed, and shuddered in despair. Quickly he took a deep breath and blew air into Ryan's lungs, Abby pushed him towards his chest and she began blowing air into the soldier's lungs while Connor used all his strength to massage and restart the captain's heart.

Panicking Abby felt for a pulse. She too had lost many people due to the anomalies and this time she was determined not to let Ryan die.

"I've got a pulse," she whispered in relief.

For an age they waited for Ryan's health to improve.

In the meantime, Connor sat between Ryan and Abby, holding their hands as if he was about to lose them. But the information he was about to give to Abby, could break her heart, he could very well lose her before he had even started.

"Abby, there's something I need to tell you..." He waited until he had her full attention. "You remember when my friend Tom died?"

"The one who was bitten by a dodo...?"

"Yeah ... Well, after he died, Ryan here, he took me out for a couple of drinks, we ended up at his place, one thing led to another, and we ended up in bed together."

"You mean he took advantage of you while you were drunk?"

"No... It wasn't like that at all, I wasn't drunk! Whatever happened between me and Ryan, happened because I wanted it to happen, not because Ryan made me, or that he took advantage of me; in fact, we even waited until the following day to do it again." He looked down at Ryan's sleeping form. "I'm sorry Abby, but Ryan became a part of my life that I thought was dead and buried, I never expected him to come through that anomaly, or to feel the way I do."

"So you're saying that you don't want me anymore?" Abby muttered sorrowfully.

Connor could see the tears brimming in her eyes, the hurt and pain behind them.

"No, I didn't mean it like that! I love you Abby, but you've got to understand, I love Ryan too." He huffed in defeat. "Look, I need to get my head straight, think about what to do... Can you look after him until I get back? Please?"

Abby nodded, saddened by his admission, and watched as he left the cave.

Part of her wanted Ryan to die, so that she could continue her relationship with Connor, but then she would never really find out which of them he loved more. Slowly she wiped the tears from her eyes. She would not let Connor see her cry; that would just confirm just how much she loved him.

She heard a soft moaning and leaned down to check the soldier's pulse. She smiled briefly, he was going to live, and although she didn't really know where she stood in regards to her relationship with Connor, the simple fact that he was going to live pleased her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She crooned softly, trying very hard to put emotion into her voice, it wasn't Ryan's fault, he had no idea that he was about to shatter her world.

Ryan blinked, this stranger somehow looked familiar, and he blinked again clearing his eyes, focussing them properly.  
"Abby?"

"Yeah, it's me; although it's been years since I saw you last."

"I don't understand, I left you on the other side of the anomaly, you looked different. Am I dead?"

"No you're not dead, well ... You were, and then somehow an anomaly opened, a predator dragged you through, and somehow we managed to save you."

"This doesn't make sense, who is we? Where are we? What do you mean?"

"Hush for a moment, get your bearings, when you're better we'll explain more, me and Connor. We'll help you get better. Stay still, I'm going to see if I can find Connor, I won't be far, and I'll be back soon."

Scanning the horizon at the mouth of the cave, she looked around to see if she could see Connor, to no avail. He was nowhere to be seen. She hoped he would be back soon. Then she could leave him and Ryan to talk. It was obvious Connor had a lot of explaining to do, and she didn't want to be the one to tell Ryan about their relationship.

Then walking back she smiled briefly at the captain who winced in pain. Walking over she began to tend to his injuries. "Look I need to check you over for any more injuries."

Very slowly she lowered the zipper to his Kevlar vest, and to the black uniform he wore underneath. Running her hands over his torso she pressed gently onto his ribs checking to make sure that he hadn't had any major injuries. Running her fingers over his upper torso, she heard the soldier inhale sharply.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..."

"You didn't hurt me... It's just been a very long time since I've had a woman touch me." He gulped.

Abby smirked, she now knew of his time with Connor, and she asked how long it had been since he had been with a member of the opposite sex.

"Since the Iraq war, there was a woman, an FCO. She was super..." he noticed Abby's querying look, "She had long blonde hair and blue eyes."

"What happened?"

"Our camp came under fire, and they hit our communications HQ with a mortar bomb. They found her charred remains a week later under a mound of rubble." Ryan's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

"It's ok... Abby...?" He waited for a moment. "Tell me about the last time you saw me. What's happened?"

"Cutter told us you'd been dragged through an anomaly by a future predator. He said there was nothing he could do to help you; that the anomaly closed too quickly for him to come after you." She paused remembering the way Cutter had come back, confused and asking for a woman called Claudia Brown.

"We were told that you'd died. That anomaly you went through to the Permian. Cutter came back and told us how the future predator dragged you through an anomaly, that it closed very quickly and how he couldn't get to you in time. He told us that you really didn't stand a chance against that thing on your own and that you'd most probably be dead."

"I'm supposed to be dead...?" Ryan's mouth fell open.

Abby spoke to the soldier at length telling him about the events that led to Stephen's death and then to Cutter's, how his deranged wife had shot him. How Danny had come along and had taken over leading the team. How they had followed Helen, how Connor had realised what she had been trying to do, trying to obliterate the human race. She paused for a moment watching Ryan and then continued. Eventually telling him of how they had followed Helen into the Cretaceous, how Connor had hurt himself and she had stayed with him and now that they were trapped with no way home.

"So how long has it been since I've been around?"

"Two and a half years."

"So if you hadn't been trapped here, I'd be dead?"

Abby nodded sadly, she found that she could talk to Ryan quite easily; she had never really connected with Ryan before. Now not only was she talking to the man, she was tending to his injuries, and finding he was easy to get along with and she realised that she was glad he was alive.

What worried her was how he would react to Connor telling him about them. She had learned to love Connor deeply, and for her own selfish reasons didn't want Ryan to get in the way. However the choice wasn't hers to make, and she would have to live with whatever Connor chose to do.

"Abby...? Can you hold my hand?"

She found his request unusual, yet put her smaller hand in his larger one. His hand felt hard and calloused compared with Connor's much softer hands, but she didn't feel as awkward as she had expected to feel. Faint electricity bubbled pleasantly just under the surface of her skin, a weird connection with the man in front of her.

Ryan shuffled trying to sit up.

"Take it easy, you really shouldn't move at the moment, you might damage something permanently, and we don't have many medical supplies.

"Just for a minute,"

Abby steadied him by putting her arms under his, their faces mere inches from each other. "Thank you" he breathed, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. Gently he kissed her cheek.  
"You and Connor saved my life."

He snorted "Connor, he was never a real action man, yet he saved my life... I'll have to thank him next time I see him."

"Yeah ... You do that." Abby smirked pulling away from him. Somehow she seemed to know what he meant, and she couldn't help but picture them together in her head. The image in her head of Connor and Ryan was so hot and Abby blinked and blushed in reaction to the erotic picture.

Carefully she helped Ryan to lie back down; lying in a straight position would aid healing. She was pleased that Ryan had regained consciousness. It meant that he was going to live. It also meant that the life that she had so carefully built with Connor was crumbling away. There was the possibility that she could lose Connor altogether, and Abby resented Ryan for coming along to spoil things.

.

-o-o-o-

.

* * *

Connor sat not far from the cave that they had begun to call home. He watched as Abby came out of the cave looking for him. He was pleased when she didn't venture too far leaving Ryan on his own for too long.

He thought about his relationship with the handsome soldier. For Ryan it would be like yesterday, but for him two and a half years had gone by, Stephen and Cutter had died since, and he had finally succeeded in wooing Abby and although they had not consummated their relationship, he knew it was just a matter of time, finding the right anomaly and going home before joining together.

But now with Ryan, he didn't know where he stood. He knew, without a doubt, that he loved both of them, he loved them both equally in different ways, he didn't know which of them to choose, and he didn't know what to say to either of them.

With anguish in his heart he watched the sun go down before getting up and trudging down to the cave. He could tell that Abby was cooking the fish he had caught yesterday, he could smell the alluring fragrance, and could see the trail of smoke as it billowed into the air.

He found Abby tending to Ryan's injuries. He could see that she had hunted through Becker's backpack and had pulled out an emergency medical kit that had been kept inside. Connor was grateful for it, as it meant that they could tend to Ryan's injuries properly. He was pleased to see that the Captain was awake; it meant that Ryan was not as bad as he initially thought and with lots of care and attention he would survive.

Ryan gave a brief smile, and appeared to look over her shoulder. "Hiya,"

Turning around she looked at Connor standing at the mouth of the cave. It was obvious he'd been crying the tell-tale tracks of water that streaked his dirty face.

"Hey..." Connor greeted, he rushed over to the older man, "Still with us then?" He grinned, he had not seen Ryan in years and he could not help the outburst of emotion.

"Cutter told us you'd been dragged through an anomaly by a future predator. He said there was nothing he could do to help you; that the anomaly closed too quickly for him to come after you."

Suddenly there was a loud roar, a rumbling sound that echoed through the valley, and a very large eye appeared at the mouth of the cave, Ryan started to reach for something to defend himself with.

"Oi, calm down, that's only the local Brachiosaurus, we saved its calf a couple of months ago, and now it kind of treats us like part of its herd. It's an herbivore, and it won't hurt us," Connor explained.

Ryan smiled briefly. "Oh god...!" He cursed and winced in pain.

"Don't move, I think you've got a cracked rib, if Connor hadn't distracted that Future predator when he did, you'd be dead... As it is you're bruised and battered, and I hope you'll live!" Abby chastised. "Please don't leave us; it's kinda lonely, stuck in the past with no humans around for Millennia."

"Where are we? When are we?" Ryan questioned settling down on the bed of ferns once more.

"Well, we're in the Cretaceous, Mid to late Cretaceous to be exact. Loads of creatures around, but definitely no humans," Connor explained, reaching for Ryan's hand.

"What happened? How come we're stuck here, more importantly, how did you get stuck here?" Ryan pondered.

"A lot happened after you died..." Connor began. "We we're told that you'd died. That anomaly you went through to the Permian. Cutter came back and told us how the future predator dragged you through an anomaly, that it closed very quickly and how he couldn't get to you in time. He told us that you really didn't stand a chance against that thing on your own." Connor sniffed. "It broke my heart, listening to Cutter telling me that you were dead, that you weren't coming back! We'd just agreed to keep it quiet ..."

"Erm, Connor...?" Ryan stopped him and pointed to Abby who sat listening.

"She knows, I told her about us this morning, I had to, couldn't just leave her to find out later." Connor paused for a moment and shifted so that he rested his back against a wall facing the older man.

"You see when you didn't come back, I couldn't tell anyone about us, not even Abby! I had to carry on as if I didn't care. It's been two and a half years since I last saw you. Abby and I finally become an item, and then suddenly this anomaly opened up and you came through. I had to tell Abby, she deserved to know the truth. It's not fair for her not to know."

"So you saved me from that future predator only to tell me that you've got Abby in your bed now and don't need me?" Ryan huffed and turned away from him.

"I didn't mean it like that! I still love you, still care for you, but the thing is that I love Abby too. I can't explain it, and even though I've just spent four hours just thinking about relationships, I'm still no closer to finding out which of you I want to be with." Connor begged for a little bit of understanding. He was caught in the middle, his feelings of love for both of them, confusing him.

"Look, it's obvious that you need to talk things over. I'm going to go down to the river, we'll need another bed of ferns, and I'll go and get some." With that Abby got up and moved away.

"Don't take too long, be back before dark!" Connor called knowing that she had an hour to retrieve some bedding.

.

-o-o-o-

.

* * *

Abby began trudging slowly, and then broke into a run, wanting to get as far away from the cave as possible. It was only when she was at the river's edge that she flopped to her knees. Hot, sentimental, tears welled up in her eyes, and with no-one around to see her, she let the floodgates open, and she sobbed. She wept because she was losing Connor to someone else.

It had been bad enough with Caroline, at least she was female, but Ryan was a different matter altogether. Loosing Connor to another man was the ultimate injustice, it was like a slap in the face, and it stung her. Had she pushed Connor away once too many times for him to take her side? Would he prefer being with Ryan's warm personality than her cold one?

She sobbed long and hard before beginning to cut down some ferns, and she wept as she hacked at the dense foliage.

.

-o-o-o-

.

* * *

Back at the cave Connor screwed up his eyes, if he wasn't careful he could end up losing both Ryan and Abby, and he didn't know who to choose. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind one that said he wanted both of them - together, but also knew it was not going to happen. Abby wouldn't agree, and neither would Ryan.

Connor tried to explain his situation.

"It's alright for you, everything that happened; happened yesterday, for me it's not that easy..."

"You don't love me anymore?"

"It's not a case of I don't love you anymore." Connor paused for a moment and swallowed. "It was when you came through that anomaly, being dragged through by a future predator, I realised, and here was my chance to do something, to keep you alive. Giving you CPR made me realise that I still have feelings for you. I love you."

Ryan turned towards him.  
"And what about Abby, you told me that in the two and a half years I haven't been around you finally got together with her? Where does she stand? I'm taking it that this relationship isn't just platonic anymore?"

"No, we're together now. What I have with Abby is so much more."

"And the sex?" Ryan had to interrupt, he had to know.

"The sex is fantastic... We haven't done it properly yet..."

"Why not...?" Ryan saw this as hopeful, he still had a chance.

"I don't want her to fall pregnant, not out here in this wilderness."

"Is that the _real_ reason, or just what she _wants_ you to believe? Are you sure she's not leading you on because you're the only man in existence?" He paused for a moment. "What's she like when it comes to sex, especially if you haven't gone all the way yet?"

"What...? You want to know if I've taken her up the arse yet...! I can't believe you! You come this close to dying..." Connor gestured angrily with his forefinger and thumb, "and all you can think about is sex!"

"Well...?" Ryan calmly raised his eyebrows, really wanting to know.

Connor snorted and smiled genuinely. "I have, and oh god is it good!" Slowly he began to smile. "But..."

"But ...? What ...?"

"I don't know..."

"Something missing...?" Ryan repeated the words he had heard Connor say to him yesterday.

Connor pondered, the words he had spoken years ago to Ryan, now came to the forefront of his mind. "Funny you should mention that ... But yeah ... There is something missing ..."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know..." Connor sighed.

Ryan took in Connor's indecisive look; he hated the fact that his arrival had caused it. Maybe it would make Connor feel better if he didn't talk about the elephant in the room.

"Where's your hat Connor?"

"I stopped wearing them; Caroline mentioned something about liking them. Treacherous bitch! I stopped wearing them because of her. Now that I think about her, I should have been able to see through her straight away, she never even let me get close enough for a proper kiss!"

"Is she also the reason you've stopped wearing fingerless gloves?" Ryan gathered that Caroline had been someone he had met who had not been very nice to him.

"Say that again?"

"Your gloves Connor, you're not wearing them, along with your hat, they were your trademark Conn, is it because of her?"

"No, I think I lost them. I had them until a few weeks ago and now they're gone."

"Hey...! Connor...! Can you give me a hand with these?" Abby called from outside the cave.

"Coming...!" He winked at Ryan before getting up to join Abby.

Abby had cut down many large branches and was hauling them up the hill.

"Did you manage to talk?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, though I couldn't reach a conclusion, if that's what you want to know." He took a few branches from her arms, and dragged them into the cave. Abby was going to say something, but decided against it.

Once she was inside the cave Abby spoke up. "Look Connor, you don't need to make your mind up tonight, why don't you take your time? Decide in your own time?" She smiled tentatively.

"She's got a point Connor, there's no rush, and in the meantime you can shag whichever one of us you fancy!" Ryan interrupted

"I get the best of both worlds then?" Connor grinned, a huge Cheshire cat grin, and he looked from Ryan to Abby to see if they were in agreement. "Yes!"  
He bounced on his knees as his lovers agreed.

That night they slept on the bedding of ferns which was placed together, Connor slept between Ryan and Abby, content to be sandwiched between his lovers.

.

-o-o-o-

.

* * *

Well there we go... Chapter 3.

I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
